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Monday, January 10, 2011

Mini Shrimp Cups

1.11.11

My body is aching from snowboarding this past weekend. It was my first run of 2011! The pain was worth it. I need to condition by going more often :). I realized how badly out of shape I was; or maybe I must be old! It was snowing pretty much all day and the visibility wasn't that great. Surprisingly, there were a lot of people that day. Aside from snowboarding, we might have a snow storm today or tomorrow in Seattle. Yikes!

How's 2011 treating you so far?

Back to the food, these mini cups are elegant but surprisingly easy to make. They are so good that I made them twice - first batch for the Christmas Party with the in-laws and the second for the New Year's Eve party that I hosted. They are crowd pleasers; I can guarantee you that. The bite size is adorable and makes them go fast!

As far as the cupcakes (recipe's here), my friends loved them. They are so cute. I also boxed them as a gift for friends who couldn't make it to the party. I added a little vegetable shortening to thicken the frosting. Somehow my frosting was runny. I might have accidentally added too much powdered sugar-oops.

Patty asked me how I liked the cake. I tweaked it to a green tea cake, so I cut out chocolate and cocoa powder and added 1 full tsp of matcha green tea powder. It was good, especially eating it with a cup of hot tea. Next time, I will have to cut out the caramel part since it was too sweet for my taste buds (recipe is here). I didn't use a cast iron pan but used a cake pan instead. It worked fine.

Roxan's pretzels are super easy and adorable! I didn't have Hershey's so I used what I had on hand - Reeses cups.

Thanks for the awesome recipes you guys!

Other than that, I made the beverage that I had submitted to Denise's and Lazaro's Cocktail Contest. This time I used pomegranate and cranberry juice. Over all the party was a success. Everyone was happy and full. Celebrating with good company and good food was a great way to start year 2011!

If you'd like to make it ahead of time so that you won't have to be too busy on the day of, you can chop all the herbs and vegetables in a separate containers. The mayo mixture in another container. On the day of, bake the gyoza skins, mix the mixture and everything else together. Fill the cups before serving.

I used cooked shrimp instead of crab meat but you can change to any kind of seafood you like.

Preheat oven to 350 F. The recipe calls for 375 F but I find it's too hot and sort of burns the gyoza skins. I decrease the temperature and increase time.

31
comments:

A happy 2011 to you! The shrimp cups looked amazing...and surprisingly they looked easy to make. By the way, I'm out of shape too. My legs were aching from just walking around the zoo, what a disgrace right? Maybe that's the downside for spending too much in the kitchen snacking where I should have been in the gym exercising, sigh!

Happy 2011! The mini shrimp cups look really delicious...very light and full of bright, fresh flavors! I can see how these would be a huge success at any party! Yummy desserts too...your Rudolph cupcakes are super cute! I'm definitely bookmarking the recipe!

Hi Tanantha! Shrimp, snow and sharing your experiences make for an interesting and fun post;-) I like the way you reworked the upside down pear cake, I want to try baking with tea and also drinking more tea.I don 't care how fit you are, skiing uses different muscles and always makes you sore the first time you ski for the season. But, you look good snowboarding and I love the mini shrimp cups, a great party offering. I hope you hit the slopes often this season and get over the sore muscle stage!

Hello! Very good - looking cups, and, as always a great dish on you blog :)Jealous that you were snowboarding - unfortunately, it is prohibited in my case (like skiing - I used to ski). Happy New Year :)

Hey Tanantha! Your shrimp cups look so good to me right now. I haven't eaten hardly anything today, as I'm a bit sick. I can feel myself wanting food finally when I look at them. That's nice (smile). Food!Ooh, and I like the cupcakes-those are too cute. And the recipe must be really good for you to use it twice;) I'm telling you though, my 'Best Ever Vegan Chocolate Cake' would have been better for your man (no cholesterol-smile) and it's awesome. Okay, I sound like a car salesman...:)Hope you're having a great week, Tanantha.XOXO

my body is aching from snow too, but not snowboarding, shoveling...sigh. looks like you had a great party with lost of yummy eats. those Rudolph cupcakes are too cute. i'll bet my kiddies would have eaten everything but the cupcake...haha. i'm usually the one stuck with eating their plain cupcake. i love your shrimp cups. it's so true that when things are mini sized, they tend to go quicker. with me there though i don't think you'd have time to even snap a picture of them (wink). hope you're having a great start to 2011!

I remember how sore I would feel after skiing that first run of the season. I'm glad that you enjoyed yourself. I can't believe how much snow is falling everywhere! These shrimp cups are such a beautiful treat. I would love to serve these at a dinner party I'm hosting next month. Thank you for sharing with me. Stay warm and safe during the rest of the week!

I can't imagine snow boarding at my age....sigh....I'm glad you got out and had a good time! Your feast looks amazing as usual, and I can see why those gorgeous little shirmp cups made the top 9 today!!Great job my friend!Dennis

That's a lot of mouth-watering bites. I love your shrimp cups. They look so pretty. Oh, the snow. My daughter loves that. She is going snowboarding tomorrow. I would rather stay in and enjoy hot soup, hot drinks and snacks :D

Those Rudolph cupcakes are so cute! And the shrimp cups are mouth-watering - I'll bet they were a HUGE hit! I'm definitely inviting you to my next party if you ever come out to CT - both for your awesome food and your wonderful company! :)

I'm impressed with your mad snowboarding skillz - the only time I ever got on a snowboard, I spent more time on my face than I did vertically. Oh, well :)